Laugh

This is the fourth post in a series expanding on 20 Things I Learned from My Toddler.

When food tastes really good, laugh.

Toddler’s don’t usually concern themselves with personal development, planning or working to improve their circumstances. They take things as they come. If the moment gives them pleasure, they smile and laugh. If the moment is unpleasant to them, they cry.

The irony in this is that, as adults, we work very hard to bring pleasure into our lives. Yet on average, we enjoy pleasure much less frequently than toddlers do. We reserve our emotional expressions to revel in our plans if they are successful. We reserve joy for weekends, holidays and vacations.

This drive to work for improvement has been a positive force in the progress of our species and many of us as individuals. But it also has a tendency to blind us from the joy that is right in front of us.

As adults, we don’t have parents feeding us and planning our lives for us, but it is still possible to find joy in the moment whether it’s a Monday morning starting a week of hard work or the first day of a long, relaxing vacation.

Today’s Lesson from a Toddler

Pay attention to what is right in front of you. When food tastes good, when you hear a song you like, when you splash water on your face and it feels good, when you make a silly mistake, when you accomplish a small task, when someone or something, no matter how small, makes you feel good, laugh.